Seller using many THOUSANDS of search words hidden in description to get hits - isn't that illegal?

[coasternut]

I have discovered in my daily searches that a seller from Italy is using many THOUSANDS of search words that are unrelated to what the seller is selling (coins) to get his auctions to appear in just about any search an eBayer does. The words are hidden in his description by using a white font or some kind of coding.   There is a huge blank spot in item specifics.  I would think this is being deceptive and eBay would consider against fair selling practices.  I have written eBay but I guess they don't care.  It would be similar to me selling and listing 30,000 city names in my description to get hits on my auctions.  Can someone tell me if this is allowed?  Or who to write at eBay?
The seller is from Italy.  Here is one of the auctions.  Look at item specifics.  search for "Muncie" in the auction or just look at the many inches of blank space that is taken up by tiny font of thousands of hidden words 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1751-Benedict-XIV-Papal-State-Italy-1-Grosso-Silver-Coin-Vatican-Rare-Scarc...

[coasternut]

wait for the auction to load, it takes a while as there are so many words hidden

[ronsam-197]

Using white font to hide search words is considered keyword spamming and is ebay illegal.

Have you reported the listings/seller?

[1tuna]

I guess I am not following....what is wrong with keywords in the description.

I thought you could say whatever you feel like in the description

what would be the point of hiding them in the description.

I know invisible words are not supposed to be in the title

I lways thought keyword spammng had to do with the title

I thought spamming the description was allowed

[eunster1313]

(I guess I am not following....what is wrong with keywords in the description.

I thought you could say whatever you feel like in the description

what would be the point of hiding them in the description.

I know invisible words are not supposed to be in the title

I lways thought keyword spammng had to do with the title

I thought spamming the description was allowed)

Search manipulation policy

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/search-manipulation-policy?id=4243&st=12&pos=2&q... 

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@1tuna wrote:

I guess I am not following....what is wrong with keywords in the description.

I thought you could say whatever you feel like in the description

what would be the point of hiding them in the description.

I know invisible words are not supposed to be in the title

I lways thought keyword spamming had to do with the title

I thought spamming the description was allowed

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The guy has literally thousands of white on white keywords crammed into his description. Searches for the keywords he has will pull up his coin.  I tried to paste all the keywords here, but I got this message:

Here's just a small snippet of some of the words he's spamming:

49ers Walsh P.I.L.O.T. Ogden Enemy '95 A13 Jamboral Plains Opener 104 1997-98 Bure 1996-97 Potvin Creative Anachronism Erick Nichelle Knoblauch Twins Jaroslav Svejkovsky Oakfield Sosa Cubs Ripken Hideo Nomo Pennybags Tuggle Cabrillo Betty Cast Exclusive Kranefuss Kindness Gotham Airlift Inhabitants Comerford Féile Nollaig 109th -SCA Marraige Bud bowl vs Chargers St-Louis Rams titan Dolphins Redskins Chiefs Stands Elton Joel DisneySEA Norm Assembladge Daley 112th 46th AvP Predator Ozarks Hammer/Viking know C-3PO Darth Vader R2-D2 Skywalker Yoda Episode Begins president Sith Arc-170 Borlaug Lebanon/Marion Mississinewa Expanded Universe Droid Spouse Dolley Umpass-stay Clone trooper Fabrication 787 Dreamliner Louisa Jackson's Buren's 118th Letitia Julia Filmore Presenting ACE Javan rush 119th BCS C.M.C Secession Eliza Lucretia Acadia Edith Ida Ellen Litecoin Ł sea 56th Terminator NYPD Patricia CVN-76 book tramp beauty Mermaid Aristocats Tangled Pocahontas Bambi Mulan beast Cinderella Dalmatians Jafar Tinker Olaf Avengers: night Xenomorph LII Raptor Strength CNN Hound Eowyn Pippin Balrog Faramir Elrond Perception Endurance Frodo Legolas Sauron Samwise eye Galadriel Gondor Gandalf Uruk-hai Charisma Arwen Nazgul Saruman Gollum Boromir Bilbo Saint-Gaudens Vault-Tec Intelligence Ivy Two-Face Tops nickel Batgirl Man-Bat Martian Manhunter Creeper Cyborg Freeze Lex Luthor Bike Agility Gremlin Pieces Wanted Dead Alive Bessie Prototype Nuka-Cade Wrangler Gomorrah Aureus 22908 Goetz 12-AZ 8-DW 10-W 10-TS O-10 Y.S. Schools Spiegel Fee Sacramento HOJ Humanity 292 Ilco Claysville Warranted Bikes Blues BBQ Destin Has Recbar Jeffersontown Hideaway Quinta Tony's 586 EW Hug Briley TCTC Penn-Paramount P.S Nitro ACA Sav-A-Coin 435 Plated $150 Position Difference CCR Pedal Wyant Foundry Jerome Tips Slaves Heartthrob Achievement Hurd Funarama Quad atom Being LV Jordan's Zingg Planetarium Butts TDF Cog Punky's Zirul's Bulova Accutron Corn Duy Anh Allsteel Sambo's Loomis Flavorpac In-Cup Indy Lub Smokers Koviss Amano Standish Threepence Prospector Tipping Napa Lincoln-Kennedy Aiport Seattle-Tacoma Cochise Drachm Phila. Madness Lucie N.S.W. CJL Chisporroted Bechtler OPA Drachms Troemner ʒii ʒij Scruples Piedmont Gruber Pikes Alwey Together Laffs Chap Tariff Camden Isanti Nutrition EATran Clairton Titletown Parking-Trolley Durango Danville MSBA Hwy Genesee Mental Flint Hart Coach Lowell Pinellas Belleair C.L.A. Stages Bibb Macon Breeding Coaches Muskogee Orlando-Orange Expressway FL Oneonta R.I.P.T.A. wing Villita VIA Streetcar Students Traction Omniride Woodbridge Yuba Culver Triborough short Sattley Middleport Pomeroy Ventura Ithaca Discount Tyson Forida B.M.T DIV. NYSEG N.Y.S.E. Coachways LADD Pixies VA. Limousine SCRTD XXIIIrd Lifting gate Chillicothe MBTA Corridor MichiganI Fargo-Moorhead Metro-Dade Archer MARTA XXVIIII Paralympics McKinney Claiborne Pell SLC Chincoteague Coordinated 7½ CTCO Richmond-Petersburg Wye Soldotna Beach-Expressway Retires Burt Int'l Airportransit Framingham Otsego Gaylord Dee Ogunquit Tract Pueblo Bremerton Dial-A-Ride CDTA S.M.C. Aliquippa AB&W Jitney's Altoona Elec. Interstate Rys. Elderly Bloomington-Normal C.C.M.T. Binghamton NY. Bremerton-Charleston Clearwatwer Int. NFT CWC Interurban Gables C.A.Lea Colo. Southbank Leppert Nueces Fond MVRTA Corp'n Lighting Glens Gatlinburg Hauppauge Vilas Manitowoc Hazleton Salle-Peru Oglesby RY. &. Cap. Trac. Uptown Kalamazoo Minneapolis-St. Onset R'Way Hampton-Newport News. Cooke Waterbury LT. TR. Logansport TRT Tidewater McKeesport Meadville AZ Denney Bamford Munhall Albany-Louisville I.P. OR T.M.E.R. Ottumwa SEPTA Southeastern Childs Fay T.C. Ry Iowa-Illinois Ry.Co. RTS Streets Child's Sheboygan Druid Tuscaloosa BARTA Damrill RIDE Sedalia Schenectady Tide CA. Tucson Armands Armand's Rate Scranton Penn-Ohio Shenango Electic Transmission Tarta N.Y.S. RYS. Fla. Mun. Ht.& C.N.S. M.R.R. C.N.S.& M.R.R.Co. Torrance Vandergrift Vallejo Whittier Luzerne Transpotation Wilkes-Barre Omnilink Rosecrans HI DiegoCA trout Ulatco Sandston -Queen Parkersburg Eastbay Johnstown Landier Conn. Pwr. Pecos Roswell Ring-necked Pheasants Champaign-Urbana centro TO/A Calexico Abilene Leyden Il. T.H.I.&E. Shoals ALA. Andys S.D. C.T.C. Tenn. Ambridge Queensboro Waco Beidler Savanah Azelealand N.O.T. L.CO. Laconia Wausau ST. Pennsylvania-New Cab Vacaville Watertown-Suburban Fare- Montebello W.C.F. C.R. G.I.Transit OmahaNE PRT Wappingers ULATCO Homeland McCoy Surface Cheyenne Term. Arundel Annapolis Сolumbus Fonda Gloversville E.R.R. Kokomo Conestoga Holyoke Lynchburg Appleton M.C.L. Duluth-Superior Crook MinneapolisMN Beloit Gastonia RockinghamNC 1945-2004 N.Y.S.G. Lodi Mt.-Kingsford Oshkosh Albemarle Beardstown BeaumontTX GTCO. Inglewood Kannapolis Lubbock Shelby Stillwater W.M.& Schuylkill Norristown SheboyganWisconsin Traverse Safeway D.M.C.L. Duquesne Saugus Wellsburg Woodlawn Mateo-Burlingame P.S.T. Darby Waltham Bahner Goldsboro Alameda-Contra Wis. Shreveport Trans-Hudson Brockton Peterburg Contra C.T.A. VT M.T.T.A. CNY Ghirardelli Slope Barrow RTA Detroit-Windsor AppalCART Staten NeW 1-Zone C.S.O. Citizen SJD OC Trolly Mateo SAM Peeling Klindt-Geiger Cassville Kraut Hohenadel

[southern*sweet*tea]

To tell you how many words he has crammed in the description box, I did a print preview of the text I pasted into notepad. If I were to print it all out, it would take 127 pages.

[coasternut]

Yes I did.  I've not heard anything.  That was 3 days ago.  

[coasternut]

Maybe it is.  BUT can you list, say, 250,000 words in your description so it appears in nearly all eBay listings that search description?   

[coasternut]

Maybe it is.  BUT can you list, say, 250,000 words in your description so it appears in nearly all eBay listings that search description?   

[elma_ny]

I've seen this in other listings, especially when I didn't understand why an item was showing up in a very-specific search normally resulting in few hits (e.g., my hometown, including state).  

I'm still mentally fuzzy (always!) on how search results come up.  That is, are my search words in the title and description, or just the title?  I'm guessing it's both title and description.

This practice should be disallowed.  Perhaps (thinking out loud)... only the first XX words in a description should be used for searching?

[nobody*s_perfect]

The basic search looks only at title and item specifics.  So the keyword spamming in that listing would affect only searches for which the "Include description" option had been checked off.

As noted, the listing takes ages to load.  I wonder if the seller is losing sales because potential buyers get impatient and back out of the listing. I don't understand the point of outrageous KWS: who is going to click on a totally unrelated listing just because it showed up in their search results, AND then wait ages for it to load?

[itscalledapostingid]

I actually unsubscribed from emails on most of my saved searches because of this. Most of my saved searches are for unusual items that come up on Ebay like once a year. Then I started getting a bunch of emails every other day with just an unrelated coin in every email.  It was a different coin than the one you mentioned though.

[nocoolnamejane]

They aren't keywords per se, it looks like he crammed multiple dictionaries in multiple languages in his listing... or we fell into a hidden message Zodiac-style case.

One could argue the fact that they are violating policies by hiding the words in the frame coding...

[tutwa-20]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

I don't understand the point of outrageous KWS: who is going to click on a totally unrelated listing just because it showed up in their search results, AND then wait ages for it to load?

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Nobody, but search engine spammers think like telemarketers...

There was a time, not that long ago...

20 years?

I guess that's a long time for some folks, but it wasn't that long ago when...

If you spammed a search engine like that, they could (and would) ban you.

I wonder what happened to that, did that get de-testosteroned too?